


Portrait of a Young (Gryffindor) Man

by sophh



Series: An Artist and Her Muse [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Artists, F/M, artist!AU, artist!Astoria
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophh/pseuds/sophh
Summary: Astoria paints a portrait of Colin at his request. Artist!AU.
Relationships: Colin Creevey/Astoria Greengrass
Series: An Artist and Her Muse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934695
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Portrait of a Young (Gryffindor) Man

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Hogwarts Challenges & Assignments - Term 13, Assignment 5: Muggle Art, Task #3: write about a portrait or the creation of one.
> 
> Title comes from a Raphael painting, "Portrait of a Young Man." 
> 
> Takes place after my fic On the Eve of a New Year, but this also functions as a stand-alone piece.

"Sit _still_ , Colin!" Astoria said, admonishing her fidgety subject. He made a silly face at her instead, leading her to roll her eyes and set down her paintbrush. "Seriously. How am I supposed to paint you if you keep moving?"

"How am I supposed to sit still when you've got a great big glob of paint on your nose?" Colin countered, his tone playful.

Astoria gasped and instinctively put her hands up to cover her face. "I do _not_ have paint on my nose!"

"Do too," Colin smirked, reaching for his wand. "I can fix it, though, if you'll let me."

"Not a chance!" Astoria hastily grabbed her own wand and banished the offending splatter—she hoped. "Better?"

Colin gazed at her for a moment. Though his face appeared solemn, Astoria could see that his brown eyes were twinkling. "I miss the paint. It was a definite improvement, I'd say."

"Oh, be quiet," Astoria giggled, picking up her brush once more.

She would never admit it, but she was glad that Colin had asked her to paint a portrait of him. Spending time with him felt like a breath of fresh air—welcome and refreshing. She especially liked that he teased her freely and without fear. It made her feel special, somehow.

It was just a shame that she could never introduce him to her parents.

"Tori?" Colin's voice cut into her thoughts, and the nickname made her smile.

"Hmm?" She squinted at him, then dragged a little more paint across the canvas. Once she finished outlining his head and the top of his shoulders, she could begin filling in those shapes with some peach-colored paint.

"What're you thinking about?"

"Oh, I was trying to figure out how I was going to mix the right color for your hair," Astoria lied. "Why?"

"You just looked so... peaceful," Colin replied. "I love watching you paint."

She tried to fight it, but a little bit of pink crept into her cheeks at those words.

...

Colin managed to remain in the same position for nearly a quarter of an hour, and Astoria took full advantage of that by sketching in some more details: the placement of his ears, the shape of his nose, the curve of his lips. She lingered over his mouth for longer than was probably necessary, but she told herself that it was only because she wanted to get the lines just right.

"How's it look?" Colin asked.

Astoria shot him an annoyed look. "Mouth closed, please. I'm almost done with this part, and then you can talk."

Colin made a humming noise that she took to mean, "Alright."

After a few quick brush strokes, she smiled triumphantly. "Done. You can talk now, but I need you to otherwise stay still or I won't be able to capture the shadows on your face."

"Fine," Colin said, letting out an exaggerated—Astoria hoped—sigh.

"Are you getting sick of me already?" she teased.

"Of you? Never," Colin declared. "I am, however, sick of sitting on this little stool you've got me on. My bum hurts."

Astoria bit her lip to keep from giggling aloud. "Sorry. I know it's uncomfortable, but if it were a cozy armchair or something, you'd fall right to sleep."

Colin laughed, and Astoria couldn't help but laugh along with him. Something about the sound was infectious, and she wished that she could hear it more often. Unfortunately, he was a Gryffindor, and a Muggle-born at that. She just had to make the most of their clandestine meetings.

...

"I think that's enough for today," Astoria said reluctantly, sitting back to survey her work.

Over an hour had passed and the sun had shifted overhead, which meant that the shadows she had so painstakingly captured on Colin's painted face no longer fell in the same places on Colin's actual face. Astoria still needed to fill in a few details, but she figured that could wait until tomorrow.

Colin stood and stretched. "May I see what you've done so far?"

"I'd rather you didn't—" Astoria began, but the Gryffindor had already bounded over. "Oh, Colin, it probably looks awful. I'm not done yet—"

"Wow, I can't wait to show Dennis!" he said excitedly. "It looks amazing!"

Astoria blinked. "You think so?"

"Are you kidding?" Colin leaned in to peer more closely at the portrait. "Your attention to detail is so impressive, Tori. You even got that little freckle on my nose!"

Astoria could feel warmth rising to her cheeks again, though whether that was due to Colin's compliment or his proximity, she didn't know. "Thanks, Colin." Not wanting to seem too eager, she paused before asking, "Does the same time tomorrow work for you?"

He grinned. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

For the chance to spend more time with Colin, Astoria wouldn't either.


End file.
